THE FILM

The general plot of Suspiria is that Suzy, an American ballerina, enrolls in a Berlin dance academy which is actually a front for a coven of witches. Dakota Johnson plays Suzy and is a revelation in the part since my big dumb brain still associates her with her lifeless performance in50 Shades of Grey. Tilda Swinton(as usual) puts in some great work as Madame Blanc as just caring enough yet always with an ominous undercurrent to all of her lines. Swinton also dons a ton of makeup to play a Doctor who becomes interested in the coven after one of the academy’s dance members tells him of the evil there before she disappears.

‘The Cat People‘ really thrilled people back in 1942, so in 1944, they made a sequel called ‘The Curse of the Cat People‘. It was all marketing though as ‘Curse‘ barely had anything to do with the original film, besides some of the same characters and actors. Notably, the filmmaker Ray Wise made this movie. Who is Ray Wise you ask? Holy Shit, I’ll tell you. He directed ‘West Side Story‘, ‘The Sound of Music‘, and even edited ‘Citizen Kane‘ to name a few projects he’s worked on. Not exactly a light-weight.

Justifying the Female Villain

I stumbled through my college career. After the better part of six years, I began my work on my senior thesis. I undertook the easiest thesis I could think for myself to do: analyze a television show. My advisor’s academic expertise was gender studies. As a fan of Joss Whedon, I knew of Joss Whedon’s reputation for feminist characters and decided to use my thesis to sing Whedon’s praises.

Thus, I began my work on “Careful Jayne, You’ll Scare the Women: An Analysis of Gender Representations in the Television Show, Firefly”. I watched Firefly enough that I’m still not eager to see it again. Halfway through the semester, I just wanted to watch anything else.

Mark your calendars for June 14-17, because the 7th annual OAK CLIFF FILM FESTIVAL will be in town, showing some of the best new films we can all look forward to. Every film and event will be shown at the Texas Theatre, along with a few special events in and around the Dallas area. There are 25 films to be shown along with 40 short films. There will also be a ton of live music, parties, and filmmaking workshops if you want to learn more about the filmmaking process. This year’s slate looks magnificent with a documentary about Joan Jett, a hilarious comedy, and more. Legendary filmmaker Penelope Spheeris will even be in attendance too. Spheeris is most known for directing ‘Wayne’s World‘ and the amazing documentary ‘The Decline of Western Civilization‘. Below is all the information you will need, along with some links to purchase tickets and passes.

I saw 75 movies this year and I still have 3-4 left to finish up over the next few weeks. I haven’t seen The Post, Call Me By Your Name, or Phantom Thread yet. Phantom Thread is the only regret I have but it doesn’t come out until mid-January and I like to finish my list before first week of January ends. A few special awards before my top 12.

ISIS has quickly become a hot topic in politics and the new organization of terror to defeat in the Middle East. Their ruthless genocide and enslavement of women has sparked major concern around the world, and many exasperated civilians are giving up their lives to answer the call of duty. Taking us right into the desert trenches of Northern Syria, the new documentary ‘Fear Us Women‘ showcases Hanna Bohman, a Canadian who recently reevaluated her life and volunteered to aid in a revolution of women’s rights. In just under thirty minutes, Director David Darg has gracefully shot an enlightening chronicle of sacrifice and bravery. He shows us that women can be fierce and, above all else, fearless.

Disney and Lucasfilm present the complete Season Three of ‘Star Wars Rebels‘ on Blu-ray and DVD August 29! You can expect all 22 action-packed episodes of the hit CG animated series’ third season, plus exclusive, never-before-seen bonus material on Blu-ray and DVD.

We are 3 weeks away from Game of Thrones and I have been playing catch up with some of my favorite episodes from the series. Naturally, this turned into a debate with some friends about which episodes are the “best” so I decided to rank my favorite 10 episodes ever. Enjoy!

We are closing in on Texas Frightmare Weekend for 2017 with just a little under two weeks to go. May 5 will be upon us before we know it and all the glorious events will be open and ready for us, the avid fan, rabid amateur filmmaker, the nuclear family. Whatever form you’re in, you’re going to enjoy the Southwest’s premier horror convention and film festival. If you’ve got an interest in genre film, you’re not going to want to be anywhere else but the Hyatt Regency DFW Airport May 5-7, 2017, for the 12th annual event.

Fast & Furious: Civil War

(Feel free so scroll to the bottom if you’re here to talk Jason Statham.)

After the death of Paul Walker and the 7th film there has been lots of speculation as to where the Fast & Furious franchise would go and the 8th movie definitively answers that question: Anywhere it damn well pleases. By the end of The Fate of the Furious, the loudest, most insane, and dumbest (in a good way) entry in the series, the stage is set for 100 more of these films and I’d sign up for 99 of them. While many franchises are working as hard as they can to justify spinoffs and team up films, the Fast & Furious put itself in a position to justify a number of spinoffs. As a film universe goes, Fast & Furious is behind only Marvel.

The 89th Oscars were announced today. These are supposed to be the Best Achievements in Filmmaking on all levels. However, year after year, The Academy and “their infinite wisdom” choose to pick dull films that should never be nominated. In fact, I bet you could go through most of the Winners of each year and realize you only watched that film or performance once and never thought about it again. At least The Academy had a good bit of diversity this year, but other than that – these Oscar nominations are boring, dull, and made me go to sleep just watching the equally not-fun announcement telecast.

THE FILM

For all the comic book fans around the globe, we live in a great time of moviemaking. Over the past decade, we’ve seen Hollywood take the superhero genre by storm, releasing comic book movie after comic book movie with A-list stars, talented directors, and epic budgets to bring our childhood heroes to life on the big screen. This successful genre has even garnered many awards, as well as numerous television shows on almost every network. It shows no signs of slowing up. Marvel has paved the way for superhero franchises, building on each superhero character that culminated into the ‘Avengers‘ movies, showcasing each superhero across the other superhero movies, providing a big bridge to gather all stories together. It’s been an excellent financial and critical success.

At long last, the quirky and off the wall TV show comes to the big screen. Personally, I never knew about Absolutely Fabulousthe TV show, but the pre-awareness of this show was quite evident in the audience. I was surrounded by a cacophony of hoots and yells from the show’s loyal following which lasted the duration of the film. Read the rest of this entry »

Paul Feig certainly has quite the resume. This writer/director/producer has recently made some of the funnier films, including ‘Bridesmaids‘, ‘The Heat‘, ‘Spy‘, and let’s not forget the hit TV series ‘Freaks and Geeks‘. Feig knows comedy and how to cast his roles perfectly. Each one of those films and a tv show are spot on hilarious with charm and heart. This same filmmaker has pretty much done the impossible, which is revamp the iconic 1980’s film ‘Ghostbusters’. Even before the first trailer for the movie debuted online, there was a sea of online people who trashed the film even before seeing one single frame of the film. It became a whole thing where sexism became one of the issues here.

Movie Quotes

Interrogator: I am instructed to inform you that you have been convicted by special tribunal and that unless you are ready to offer your cooperation you are to be executed. Do you understand what I'm telling you?Evey Hammond: Yes.Interrogator: Are you ready to cooperate?Evey Hammond: No.Interrogator: Very well. Escort Ms. Hammond back to her cell. Arrange a detail of six men and take her out behind the chemical shed and shoot her.Guard: It's time.Evey Hammond: I'm ready.Guard: Look all they want is one little piece of information, just give them something, anything.Evey Hammond: Thank you, but I'd rather die behind the chemical sheds.Guard: Then you have no fear any more. You're completely free.V for Vendetta (2005) The Movie Quotes